Laurent Colson

“Confidences” marks the return to recording, after a long gap, of one of the most respected pianists in France for his artistic vision, the courage of his—sometimes polemical—positions and the fertility of his musical conceptions: Laurent Coq. For his third opus in the demanding format of the piano-double bass-drums trio, rich in his collaborations with leading musicians on both sides of the Atlantic, from Miguel Zenon to Walter Smith III, from Sophie Alour to Julien Lourau, the pianist presents a series of eight compositions which are all moments of musical truth.

In 1996, the label Musique en Wallonie published an album with works for Lute by Jacques de Saint-Luc (c. 1616-1708). These pieces were brilliantly performed by Stephen Stubbs. Recent studies allow us to affirm that the present release, the second to be devoted to works by a Saint-Luc, consists of music, not by Jacques, as it was wrongly mentioned in the first album, but by his son Laurent de Saint-Luc (1669 – after 1708). In addition to two traditional suites, the present programme offers two ensembles of pieces either chosen from certain suites or free-standing – including the mournful allemande in G minor – all taken from manuscripts of lute pieces preserved in Vienna or Prague.

This is a relatively new venture for the outstandingly imaginative recording outfit that is Opera Rara. The label's fifty-fourth recording sees them venturing on an uncompleted work by Donizetti, the composer they love the most. The composer had decamped from Naples to Paris when the censors, on the king’s personal instructions, banned his opera Poliuto.

This is the real raw thing, a live recording of a hot performance–pianist Pierre-Laurent Aimard tackling a rangy and demanding program without benefit of retakes or sonic airbrushing. Not only do we feel the excitement of the occasion, but we also reap the benefits of intelligent playing and first-class engineering. Aimard plays with a fierce, thoughtful lyricism and punchy fluidity, and if at times he’s a little clipped, it’s to greater rather than lesser effect–it becomes something of a trademark. The concert opens with the Alban Berg`s sonata, difficult and thick stuff, but in Aimard’s capable hands every note is audible; the chilling ending is made even more so through his careful workings.

“Confidences” marks the return to recording, after a long gap, of one of the most respected pianists in France for his artistic vision, the courage of his—sometimes polemical—positions and the fertility of his musical conceptions: Laurent Coq. For his third opus in the demanding format of the piano-double bass-drums trio, rich in his collaborations with leading musicians on both sides of the Atlantic, from Miguel Zenon to Walter Smith III, from Sophie Alour to Julien Lourau, the pianist presents a series of eight compositions which are all moments of musical truth.

Despite the vast quantity of his compositions and the popularity he enjoyed during his lifetime, none of the 19 violin concertos of Rodolphe Kreutzer are heard with any great frequency on the modern concert stage. In fact, Kreutzer's name is largely forgotten save for his pedagogical writings and etudes. The liner notes of the CPO album put forth the notion Kreutzer's concertos have not fared as well as those of Brahms, Beethoven, and the like because Kreutzer was not primarily a symphonic composer. Upon hearing the three concertos recorded here (15, 18, and 19), listeners may find some truth to this theory. Compared to the fiery virtuosity and engaging melodies of the solo part, the orchestral tuttis are rather banal.